Kylie Cheung, Author at The Mary Sue

Kylie Cheung

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People hold lights during a vigil organized by Nailing It For America for those who have died from Covid-19 and to "Stop Asian Hate" on March 4, 2021 in Fountain Valley, California. - Orange County community volunteers formed the message of "Stop Asian Hate" with luminaries as reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans have increased since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Why More Hate Crime Legislation Can Be Counterproductive to Addressing Anti-Asian Violence

By investing significant funding into local law enforcement, the recent passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in the Senate at the end of last month could actually further harm communities of color, which are disproportionately policed and criminalized.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he gives a primetime address to the nation from the East Room of the White House March 11, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden gave the address to mark the one-year anniversary of the shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

As Biden Weighs Excluding Anti-Abortion Hyde Amendment From His Budget, Whose Consciences Are Afforded Protection?

If reproductive rights advocates were disappointed by early inaction by the Biden administration so far, this week gave plenty of reason to be optimistic. First, on Tuesday, the White House announced it would lift restrictions on remote, telemedicine appointments for people seeking medication abortion care throughout the pandemic—which is an important step, although there’s no purpose for these restrictions even after the pandemic given the proven safety of the medication.

At a protest for transgender rights, a person holds a sign reading "Protect trans kids".

Conservatives’ Anti-Trans Athlete Bills Are About Much More Than Sports

Welcome to “We Interrupt Your Brunch,” a series on all the work that remains after Donald Trump’s presidency.

Abortion rights demonstrators hold pro-choice sign reading "the burden is already undue"

It’s 2021, and Most States Still Need to Decriminalize Abortion

At the end of last month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that lifts the state’s abortion ban—yes, you read that right.

kyrsten sinema senate senator bisexual pence

Criticizing a Senator Who Voted Against a Living Wage Isn’t Sexist

Following the recent, intense online backlash against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for appearing to joyfully vote "no" to increase the minimum wage to $15 last week, Sen. Sinema's office has responded to this criticism by calling it sexist.

LITHONIA, GA - OCTOBER 03: Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock hand out lawn signs at a campaign event on October 3, 2020 in Lithonia, Georgia. The two are hoping to unseat incumbent Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Pro-Choice Ossoff and Warnock Winning Georgia Shows We Don’t Need to Sacrifice Abortion Rights to Win

Just one day before white supremacists stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, the state of Georgia elected its first Jewish Senator, Jon Ossoff, and the first Black Democratic Senator from the South, Rev. Raphael Warnock, both pro-choice defenders of abortion rights. Their victory offers a glimpse of the very future that Trump-supporting rioters at the Capitol desperately tried to pull us back from.

Donald Trump looks confused.

How the Trump Campaign’s Last Stand Teaches a Lesson in Rape Culture

Trump’s behavior may be shocking to many onlookers, but survivors of abusive relationships have called his incessant gaslighting and refusal to let go hauntingly familiar—and they’re absolutely right. The truth is there are lessons about rape culture that all of us can learn from the Trump campaign's desperate last stand to cling to power.

The Feminist Argument for Court Expansion

Let’s call Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court what it is: the desperate last stand of a political party rooted in white supremacy and patriarchy.

Demonstrators march through downtown calling for the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on August 16, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

One Week Later, Republicans’ Silence on Allegations of Forced Sterilizations by ICE Is Telling

Last week, in news that somehow already feels like eons ago, a whistleblower alleged that ICE was carrying out forced sterilizations of immigrant women at detention facilities. Since then, reproductive rights advocates and Democratic Party leadership have responded forcefully to the allegations, demanding investigations and accountability, but the silence among Republican politicians has been awfully conspicuous.

Aaron Coleman speaks in a campaign video.

Defenses of 19-Year-Old Leftist Candidate’s Abusive History Co-Opt Restorative Justice to Dismiss Sexual Harm

Now, we have the added, agonizing twist of attempts to co-opt recently popularized abolitionist, restorative justice practices for personal gain, erasing that these approaches necessarily center victims' needs and require meaningful action from the abuser to repair harm—action potentially including stepping down from a political campaign in accordance with victims' wishes.